Staying Behind
by CSIBeauty
Summary: Susan didn't want to return to England always wondering what it would have been like if she stayed behind. So she made the difficult decision to stay. She would miss her siblings, but she had to know what it would be like. Full Sum inside. One Shot.


**_A/N: This story was chosen as a finalist and also the winner of the What If contest. The mission was to create a story that changed something in canon in a way that would cause a very different effect._**

_**Full Summery: What if Susan stayed in Narnia?** _

**_Susan didn't want to return to England always wondering what it would have been like if she stayed behind. So she made the difficult decision to stay. She would miss her siblings, but she had to know what it would be like. They would miss her, but they had to support her decision. One shot. Inspired by the What If contest hosted by DieHardJavaJunkie14 on Fanlib. _**

**Staying Behind**

Susan looked to Caspian before turning back to her siblings. They were to have to return to England, but this time she would never be able to come back to Narnia. It broke her heart to think that she would never see Caspian again and that everything she had known and done in Narnia would just be a memory. She stared at the arch, knowing what it would mean to walk through it. She caught herself beginning to cry and quickly wiped away the tears.

Susan began thinking about what would happen if she didn't return to England. Her siblings would have to explain to their mother why she was no longer with them. It would change a lot, but she was beginning to think it would be best to stay behind in Narnia.

"Susan?" said Lucy, breaking Susan from her thoughts. "Are you coming?"

Susan looked back to Caspian who immediately looked to the ground. She could see the sadness in his eyes. If she went, she would never know what could have been. If she stayed it would be likely that she would never see her family again. She glanced over at Aslan who gave her a reassuring smile. She knew that it was her choice and whatever she chose he would be with her. However, she did not know how her brothers and sister would react.

"I'm not going," Susan finally said.

"What?" Peter and Edmund replied in unison.

"I can't go," said Susan. "I feel too attached to this world."

"But, what about Mum?" Lucy asked. "What about us?"

"I'm sorry, Lu," said Susan, glancing back at Caspian. He seemed to be just as surprised as the rest of them. "I can't go back always wondering what could have happened if I stayed."

"What are we supposed to tell Mum when she asks where you are?" Edmund asked.

"I don't know," Susan admitted. "I just know that I need to stay here."

"Is that what you really want?" Peter asked.

She nodded. Peter was the oldest so he was always the most likely person to understand and to accept it. Susan watched Lucy bow her head. It would not be easy for Lucy going back without her sister. After their first trip to Narnia they had become close and always played together. Susan knew that her little sister would be the one to take it the hardest, but she still would not budge. She wanted to stay in Narnia.

Lucy ran up to her embracing her in a tight hug. Susan could tell she had begun to cry as she hugged her sister back. It was not easy to see her family go, but she had made up her mind. Lucy let go, wiping the tears away. Edmund walked up, hugging his sister as well. Susan could see that Edmund was also sad, but he was trying to be strong.

Peter was the last person she had to say goodbye too. She hugged her eldest brother, tears forming in her eyes once again. She realized that Edmund and Lucy would return to Narnia one day, but Peter was never going to come back. This was going to be the last time they ever saw each other. She tightened her grip on her brother letting her tears flow. She reluctantly let go seeing that he too was crying. He gave her a small smile as he backed up to the others.

Susan backed away from her siblings and stood next to Caspian who took her hand reassuringly. She wiped her tears away with one hand as she watched her siblings walk into the arch disappearing before her eyes. She closed her eyes wondering if what she had done was the right thing. Aslan nodded to her knowingly and she gave a weak smile.

Susan didn't pay attention to the rest of the Telmarines as they went through the arch to start their new lives. She was already where she was supposed to start her new life. She just thought to herself about what her mother would think when she didn't return home. Susan knew that because of the difference in time that it was likely that she wouldn't even live to see Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia, but she tried not to think of those things. What was done, was done and she couldn't change it now.

Susan found that getting used to always living a Narnian life was not as hard as she thought. She still remembered how her life had been so long ago and soon her old life was forgotten. She never forgot Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, but everything else about her life in England was easily lost.

Susan was quite happy with the life she chose and even though she never figured out what her siblings told their mother, she stopped worrying so much about it. She had gotten to know many of the Narnians quite well and made friends fast. She was happy to be able to find out what was between her and Caspian. Aslan had never said a word to her about her choice, but he had seemed okay with it. Many of the Narnians were quite happy to have Queen Susan the Gentle stay in Narnia with King Caspian. It was a different life than the one she had, had in England, but it was the one she had chose and she was happy with it.

Peter, Edmund, and Lucy looked around the familiar train station. They had been there right before they went to Narnia, but this time Susan did not come back with them. They looked back at their luggage noticing that Susan's was also there. Lucy began to tear up again and Peter pulled his little sister into a comforting hug. The train pulled into the station just as they had got back and many of the students had quickly boarded. The three Pevensies looked at each other. They still had not made a plan about what to tell their mother about Susan and they were not sure if they should go back home right away.

"Isn't Phyllis with you?" A boy on the train asked.

"What?" Peter replied confused.

"You came awhile ago to get her," he stated nodding toward Lucy.

"Susan," Lucy whispered to Peter.

"She isn't coming home with us," said Peter.

"Well, what happened to her," the boy asked, curious.

"She. ." Peter started trying to think up an excuse.

"She was accepted to a very private school," Edmund finished, getting on the train. "It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she took it right away."

"Really?" the boy said. "I'm sure she was very happy."

"She was," said Lucy, following her brothers onto the train."Even though she will have to leave us."

"Why would she have to leave you?" the boy asked.

"It is a very private school," said Peter. "We don't even know the name of it. They accept only the best and brightest students, but they have to leave home."

"It sound quite prestigious," the boy replied.

"It is," said Edmund. "That's why they have to stay away from home, but it is a very high honor to be chosen."

"Is that what we are going to tell, Mum?" Lucy whispered to Peter.

"I think so," Peter replied. "It may be a way to convince her that she will not be able to keep in touch with Susan."

"Does a school like that even exist?" Edmund.

"If it did, do you think we would know about it?" Peter asked, grinning.

"Probably not," Edmund replied. "It sounds like the kind of school that Susan would be able to get into."

"Yeah," said Lucy. "She is too smart for her own good."

The three laughed as the train began to leave the station. They watched the bench that they had been sitting on before they had returned to Narnia. They left Susan's things sitting there, unsure what they were supposed to do with them. Peter put an arm around Lucy as they saw the last glimpse of the bench. It was going to be much different without Susan and they were sure that their mother would be upset about Susan's absence at first. Lucy would be the one most affected. She had grown so close to her eldest sister and she no longer had anyone to play with. Peter and Edmund had been there for her, trying to cheer her up and make time to spend with her. Still things were not as they used to be, but they accepted Susan's decision. They knew her life in Narnia would change as much as their life in England would.


End file.
